Dystopia
by Trillian Astra
Summary: It's the near future, and the Dharma Initiative controls much of the world... but there's something more sinister going on. Highly AU, don't expect the Island to be involved. Because it won't be. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note****: Um… this is just an idea I've had for a while. It's set in the near future, when a company called the Dharma Initiative are just a bit too powerful. Apologies for the title – when I think of a better one, I'll change it.**

**This story was partially inspired by "Market Square Heroes", a really excellent fic by Ozymandias Jones.**

**Standard disclaimer applies.**

**Please review!**

**Dystopia**

Los Angeles, California. 

September 22, 2012.

St. Sebastian's Hospital Complex

Dr. Christian Shepard was sitting at his desk, in his extremely well-appointed office, glancing through his schedule for the day. He noticed an early appointment, entered as "Internship Winners", and frowned.

"Damn. I'd forgotten that." He picked up the phone, pressing the speeddial button for his PA – a keen young man, the son of one of his wife's friends. The boy's mother had wanted him to get a job, and Christian's wife had badgered him into employing him. So far, he was actually doing all right.

"Hello?"

"Boone, why does my schedule say I have a couple of internship winners coming in half an hour?"  
"Er… you told me about that appointment three weeks ago, sir."

"Oh. Which internship?"

"Um…" He heard rustling as Boone checked his own files. "It's the Hanso Institute Internship Program, sir. The one organised by Dharma."

"Oh, yes. I remember. Who _are_ the winners, anyway?"

"Let's see… a couple of final-year med students. Juliet Burke, and… er…"

"What?"

"It says the other is your son…"

"Right. Of course, I remember now."

"Will that be all, sir?"

"Er, yes. Let me know when they arrive."

"Of course, sir."

As he dropped the phone handset back into its cradle, Christian mentally cursed himself for forgetting. It had been him who persuaded Jack to apply for the damn Hanso Internship in the first place. Then again, Jack was living with a group of his friends this year – they hadn't seen each other for weeks.

Half an hour later, Jack and Juliet – the two brightest students at UCLA med school – were being ushered into Christian's office.

"Come in, sit down."

They sat nervously in the two chairs arranged in front of his desk.

"Now, the head of the Internship program at Hanso has been in touch, and they've chosen both of you to join the program."

Juliet's eyes widened. Jack was just looking at his father.

"The program starts on Monday. I have your introduction packs here, they have all the information you'll need. You should know that this is a very prestigious internship – you'll be representing your school and the hospital. I'm sure you'll both do well. Do you have any questions?"

Juliet shook her head. "No, sir. I'm still trying to get used to it."

"Well, in that case you can take your folders and get back to school."

"Thank you, sir."

Juliet took both the files – handing one to Jack – and started to get up. "Jack? Aren't you coming?"

"Sorry, Jules. I need to talk to my father. I'll catch up with you later, OK?"

"OK."

As the door closed behind her, Jack turned back to his father.

"So, what do you need to talk to me about?"

"Why me, Dad? Why did I get this internship?"

"Merit. They're very particular about who they select."

"Maybe that's why Juliet got it. Why me? Anything to do with you being best friends with the DI, maybe?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jack. Why would I need to? You're perfectly capable of succeeding by yourself, that's why you won."

"Ridiculous? Dad, you were the one who suggested I apply in the first place."

"Only because I want you to do well! Is it so bad for me to want you to fulfil your potential?"

"Right. 'Cause you care so much about me."

"Of course I do!"

Jack glared at his father. "Do you know why I moved out, Dad?"

"You wanted to live with your friends."

"No, I moved out because I couldn't stand being in the same house as you any more. That's why Mom's gone to stay with her sister, isn't it? She knows you're up to something, just like I do."

"Jack." Christian took a deep breath. "I'm not "up to something". Your mother is on holiday, that's all. Everything is fine. You've just won one of the best internships in the country. Enjoy it. This is good news."

"I guess. But if I see anything – _anything_ – at the Institute that looks dodgy, anything that you or the DI might be involved in, I'm going to tell people."

"OK."

"What?"  
"Fine. But you won't find anything "dodgy". There's nothing going on. And I know you won't take my word for it, but maybe once you've seen what the DI do at the Institute, you'll believe me."

"We'll see. Bye, Dad." Jack grabbed his folder and stormed out.

Downtown Los Angeles

September 22, 2012

The apartment that Kate was living in at the moment wasn't anything special. In fact it was pretty crummy – two tiny bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen with the most ancient refrigerator ever, and a living-room with a battered sofa, an old armchair and a TV. The electricity was on a meter, the heating was unreliable at best, and most of the time there was no hot water, but at least it was an apartment. Unlike the Shepards, with a nice townhouse, a place in the country _and_ a beach house out at Santa Monica, Kate's family came from the opposite end of the scale. Her parents had split when she was seven, and her mom had remarried – her stepfather was a drunkard who would beat up her mother, and sometimes Kate too, when he was drinking.

Kate had run away from "home" when she was fourteen. She was a bright girl, and she managed to survive, moving from shelters to squats. When she'd been on the streets a year, she met a boy who called himself Sawyer. The first time they met, he annoyed her – but after that they ended up at the same shelter, and became friends. She found out that Sawyer's parents had died when he was eight. He'd lived with his grandmother, but she died when he was ten, and he'd gone into foster care, but it hadn't worked out. He'd been on the streets since he was twelve. He made a living by a combination of card tricks, pickpocketing and the occasional con. He was sixteen when they met, and surprisingly smart. He'd originally come from Alabama, and still had an accent. People usually expected him to be stupid – but he read voraciously, and had a gift for conning people out of their money.

The two of them teamed up – Sawyer started teaching Kate how to work a con – and soon they were making a fair bit of money. By the time they were nineteen and eighteen respectively, they'd got into a routine that 'earned' them enough for an apartment in a fleabag apartment building. They still ended up moving a lot (usually when the landlord increased the rent), but at least they weren't in squats any more.

The current apartment was one of their better ones – the last had had a nest of rats under the floor – and for once they were doing OK. Kate woke up early – a habit from her days on the streets – and headed for the kitchen to see what was in the fridge.

Opening the door, she found half a carton of out-of-date milk, a pot of yogurt that was almost past its use-by date, some leftover Chinese takeaway, and a piece of cold cheese on toast. Sighing, she took the piece of toast and made herself some black instant coffee. She made two mugs, thinking that Sawyer would be getting up about now, and knocked on the door of his room.

"Sawyer?" He didn't answer. "Sawyer, you OK?" Nothing. Not even a groan or a muttered "go away". She pushed the door open, and saw… an empty room. She put the mugs down, and looked around. The glass in the window was smashed – pieces of glass littering the floor inside – and the covers had been pulled off the bed. All of his meagre possessions – books, mostly – were still there, as were his clothes, so she knew he hadn't suddenly run out on her. Someone had broken in during the night and taken him. She sat down on the floor and leant against the bed. Looking around aimlessly, her gaze fell on something odd underneath the bed. She reached out and picked up a piece of black cloth. It had been torn from someone's shirt – probably whoever snatched Sawyer. There was something embroidered on it – one word, **DHARMA**. The instant she saw that, Kate knew who had broken in.

There were stories, passed around the street-kids and drifters, that sometimes the Dharma Initiative, the all-powerful DI, sent teams out to kidnap people off the streets to do experiments on them. But in the stories, it was always a friend of a friend of a friend. The stories were just ghost stories, something to frighten kids with. They weren't _real_. Not like _this_.

Kate knew she needed to get out. And she knew where to go, too. She only had two real friends besides Sawyer – and happily, they were a couple, living together not far away. She quickly grabbed her backpack, locked the flat, and left. A couple of blocks away, in a much nicer apartment, her friend Claire and Claire's boyfriend Charlie lived. They weren't "street-kids", like Kate. Charlie had a job in a record store, and Claire worked at a homeless shelter – in fact, that was how the girls met. Claire and Charlie had been together since they were sixteen, and living together for just over a year. Claire was also four months pregnant.

Kate arrived at their apartment to find the front door wide open, and thought "Uh-oh". Inside, Charlie was sitting on their bed, looking distraught. "Charlie? What's wrong? Where's Claire?"

He turned to look at her. "Kate? What are you doing here?"

"Uh… something bad happened. Needed someone to talk to. Where's Claire?"

He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

"What d'ya mean?"

"I woke up and she was gone. No trace of her. All her things are here, she's just gone."  
"Oh no… not Claire too…"

"What?"

"_I_ woke up this morning, and the window was all smashed in and _Sawyer_ was gone."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I found this in his room." She showed Charlie the scrap of black cloth. "I guess he put up a fight."

Charlie was looking at the cloth. "Dharma… Dharma took Sawyer… d'you think they took Claire too?"  
"Probably. I dunno. I thought things like this were just stories."

"What are we gonna do?"

Kate looked thoughtful for a moment. "We're gonna find them, and get them back."

Tower Records

Downtown Los Angeles

September 23, 2012

Charlie had told Kate that one of the guys he worked with was really good with computers, and that he might be able to hack into the DI system to find out where Claire and Sawyer were being held. Kate came to the record store just before closing time so she and Charlie could talk to him privately.

Charlie waved to her as she entered the shop. "Hey, Kate."

"Where's this hacker then?"

"He's out back. Wait here." He disappeared through a bead curtain, and Kate heard him call out "Sayid! She's here." Charlie returned followed by an olive-skinned young man with curly black hair tied back. "Kate, this is Sayid. This is Kate, the girl I told you about."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, I believe you need information from the private DI computer database?"

"That's right. Can you help?"

"I will do my best. Shall we go into the office?"

They spent the next hour sitting in the small office behind the shop – Kate explained the situation, while Sayid listened carefully. When she had finished, he nodded slowly. "I can help you. I have done something like this before."

"Other people have gone missing?"

"Yes. There is a group that is planning an attack on the DI. A few years ago I helped them free several people. The DI will have changed their passcodes, but I will be able to get around that."

"Are you sure?"

"In my profession, if you are not sure of what you can do, you do not last very long. Do not worry. I know I can do this."

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"I will also put you in touch with the group I told you about. I can't tell you who runs it… but my contact is a girl named Alex. I'll give you a telephone number for her."

St. Sebastian's Hospital Complex

September 23, 2012

Boone sat at his desk, silently willing the phone to ring. He was glad to have a job – it had been organised by his mother, who was a friend of Dr. Shepard's wife – but it was pretty boring sometimes. He was shocked out of his daydreaming by the phone ringing.

"Hello, Christian Shepard's office. How may I help?"

"Boone, is that you?"

He relaxed. "Shannon, why are you calling me at work?"  
"Because I need your help and your cellphone's turned off."

"What do you need, Shan?"

"Well…" He could just imagine her fiddling with her hair while she spoke, and smiled. "…I've been out shopping with Sun, and her driver was meant to pick us up but he never showed and we can't walk all the way back on our own. We'd have to go through Downtown, and you know what it's like there."

"Where are you?"

"Uh… corner of Second and Forty-Sixth. In front of the hotel."

"Okay, I'll come and get you. Give me five minutes to clear it with Dr. Shepard."

"Fine. Hurry."

After making sure his boss didn't mind, Boone hurried down to his car and went to find Shannon and her friend. They were just where Shannon had said – standing in front of the hotel with what looked like several dozen shopping bags heaped around their feet. He rolled down the driver's side window. "Hey, Shan. Get in, both of you."

"Thanks Boone."

As he was about to drive away, he noticed a poster on the wall nearby, which read INFORMATION WANTED: HAVE YOU LOST SOMEONE TO THE DHARMA INITIATIVE? IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES, CONTACT CHARLIE AT TOWER RECORDS, 555-1999. Boone frowned. He hadn't heard about this. Surely the DI wouldn't kidnap people off the streets.

"Uh, Boone? Earth to Boone? Hello?"

"What? Oh, right." Pushing the strange poster to the back of his mind, he drove away. "Where do you want me to drop you off? D'you want me to take you home?"

"Um…" The girls conferred on the backseat for a moment. "No, we're not going home yet. Drop us at the hospital, we can walk from there."  
"You sure?"

"Yeah. Actually…"

"What?"

"Could we maybe leave our bags at the hospital? We're going for lunch and we can't take all those bags to the restaurant with us."

"What are the chances of you shutting up if I say no?"

"Slim to none."

He sighed. "Fine. But come and pick them up before you go home, OK? I'm not dragging six dozen bags home with me tonight."

"Thanks Boone. You're the best stepbrother ever."

September 23, 2012 – early evening

Location Unknown

Sawyer woke up lying on a hard surface. He sat up, rubbing a hand across his eyes, and looked around. "Son of a _bitch_…." He was in a small room, with bare walls painted white. The only furniture was a wooden bench along one side of the room – which he was lying on. There was a bare lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. There was a door, securely fastened, and a small window, with bars instead of glass, in one wall.

But the window didn't show the outside world. Instead, when he looked through the bars he could see another room, identical to his. The only difference was that the person sleeping on the bench was a girl – a pretty girl, with long blonde hair. Sawyer called out to her. "Hey! Hey, wake up!"

"Huh?" The girl pulled herself into a half-sitting position, looked around and saw Sawyer at the 'window'. "Who are you?"

"The name's Sawyer. What is this place?"

"I don't know." She stared at him. "Wait… Sawyer? Is that really you?"

"Claire?"

"Yeah. Oh, god… where do you think we are?"

"I got no idea, darlin'.What's the last thing you remember?"

"Er… I was going to bed. Charlie was out, at a gig. I wasn't feeling well so I stayed home and went to bed early. You?"

"Pretty much the same. I was in bed, falling asleep…. No. There's something else. I thought it was a dream."  
"What?"

"Guys in black, breaking in and dragging me away. I tried to fight but there were too many of them."

"Oh no."

This time it was Sawyer's turn to say "What?"

"You know the stories? About…" her voice dropped to a frightened whisper. "about the DI. People being kidnapped for experiments…"

"Yeah, 'course. You think the DI got us?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Nah."

"Sawyer… Kate and Charlie… they'll find us, won't they? They'll get us out of here, right?"

"I'm sure they'll try."  
"What if they get caught?" She stood up and walked over to the window between their cells. "What if they can't get to us?"

"Hey, c'mon… it'll be OK. We'll figure out why they took us, and we'll get out of here. I'll look after you." He reached through the bars and touched her shoulder.

"I know why they took me."

"You do?... Oh…"

"Yeah. It's the baby. They want my baby." She burst into tears.

"OK… it's going to be OK… we're going to get out of here. They're not going to get your baby."

"Promise?"  
"Promise, kiddo."

"Thanks."

"Now, I need you to do something for me…." Sawyer never got to finish that sentence. Before he could, gas started to fill their cells, and soon they were both lying, unconscious, on the floor. Then, a group of DI scientists came in, and they were both carried out on stretchers.

September 23, 2012 – around midnight

Location Unknown

Claire woke up to someone shaking her gently. She opened her eyes to see a young man with longish dark hair kneeling next to her. "Huh? Who are _you_?"

"Are you OK? What's your name?"

"I'm Claire. Where's Sawyer? Who are you?"

"Sawyer? Oh… that must be the guy they brought in with you. He's just over there." The newcomer gestured to a nearby sofa, where Sawyer was sleeping. "I'm Desmond, by the way."

"What is this place?" Claire looked around, seeing that they were in a room much nicer than the cells she and Sawyer had been in before.

"This is our accommodation suite. This is the central area… sofas and a TV, books to read, games. On the right is the bathroom and a kitchen. We get deliveries of food every few weeks. On the left is the bunkroom, where we sleep. Each day we have a few hours of tests, but the rest of the time we can do what we like."

"So… what are we doing here? Who brought us here?"

"The DI. As far as I can tell, this whole suite is part of an underground research area. This is where they keep the, um, 'experimental subjects'."

"The people they kidnap, you mean?"

"Er.. yes."

"How many people are down here?"

"Counting you and your friend? Four. Until today it's just been me and Walt."

"Who's he?"

"He's just a kid, he's been here three years. He's asleep right now."

"The DI are keeping a kid down here?"  
"Yeah. You don't seem very surprised."  
"It makes sense. If they took a kid, a pregnant girl should be no problem."  
"A pregnant… you?"  
"Oh, yes."

At this point, Sawyer woke up. "What the hell was that?" He saw Desmond. "And who the hell are you?"

"Sawyer, it's OK. He's in the same position as we are."

"And what position is that?"

"They got me a year ago. Grabbed me while I was out for a run. Since then I've been down here, while they do tests on me."

"He's on our side, Sawyer, it's OK. He says they're keeping a kid down here."

"A kid?"

Desmond answered that one. "Yes. He's asleep in the bunkroom right now. His name is Walt, he's thirteen. They don't tell us much, but they seem to think that he has some kind of psychic ability."

"And what about you? What are they doing to you?"  
"They ask me about my dreams. Sometimes they give me drugs, and ask me what the effect is."  
"Why would they do that?"  
"Sometimes I get these flashes. Of the future."

Sawyer sat down on one of the sofas and sighed. "So, what now?"

"There's food in the kitchen, if you're hungry. The bathroom's over there and there are plenty of spare bunks if you're tired."

"So we just pretend nothing's wrong, then? We just let them do whatever they want to us? Don't you want to get out of here?"

"_Of course I do! _I had a life, out there. I tried to escape, you know. Almost made it as far as the ground floor." He was shaking badly, and Claire reached out to touch his hand. "It's OK. Take your time."

"…they caught me. As a punishment, they left me in one of the cells for a month of solitary. No tests, but nothing else, either, and just bread and water for food. They're not really equipped for punishments here, I suppose that was the best they could do. The cells… they're just for new arrivals. They catch you, leave you in there for a few hours while they make sure you're basically healthy, then knock you out with gas and bring you in here."

"Desmond… neither of us remembers anything after we went to bed last night. Do you know why?"

"I don't know for certain…"

"Can you guess?"

He nodded. "It was the same for me. I woke up in a cell, and I'd lost the whole day before they grabbed me. I think they inject you with something when they grab you, something to sedate you and make you forget at the same time. I suppose they thought it would make people easier to handle."

"Retcon."

"Excuse me?" He looked up at Sawyer.

"They retcon'd us."

Claire was confused. "Sawyer? What's retcon?"  
"The military use it. The intelligence service, too. They slip you some retcon and you forget what you were doing immediately before they gave it to you. If you get the dose right you can make someone forget whole months, even years. They must mix it with a sedative, too."

"How do you know that?"

"I read a lot."

"Right."

Claire smiled at Desmond. "Thanks for telling us. Maybe later we can figure something out together. For now, though, I think we could all use some sleep, before someone says something they regret." That last comment was aimed at Sawyer – she knew what his temper was like.

"Yeah, OK, Mamacita. Lead the way."

Desmond showed them the bunkroom – as he had said, there was a boy curled up asleep in one bunk. Another had a couple of books stacked next to it, and was evidently being used – so that was Desmond's. Claire picked the next one along, and Sawyer took the last unit, climbing to the upper bunk and going to sleep without saying goodnight. Claire settled into the lower level of her bunk, and fell asleep almost immediately.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**** The next instalment. This is a little bit shorter, but I think it makes up for it in content. As per usual, I don't own the characters, I just like to play with them. **

**This is dedicated to my first three reviewers - HotChilliGriffin, hobbitsontheisland, and Imzadi.**

September 26, 2012

Somewhere on the outskirts of Los Angeles

Three days after they asked him to hack into the DI's system, Sayid asked Kate and Charlie to meet him, so that he could pass on the information and introduce them to his contact in the rebel organisation. They chose a meeting place in a rundown area on the outskirts of the city – not the safest area, but there were fewer DI guards and cameras around.

Sayid was waiting in what was, at least technically, a park. He had been there only a few minutes when a young girl (no more than sixteen years old) casually walked up to his bench and sat down on the other end. She surrepitiously looked around, then edged closer to him.

"Sayid?" She whispered. "I got your message. What's up?"

"A colleague from the record store came to me with a favour. His girlfriend is missing, as is a young man, also a friend. My colleague and the young man's girlfriend believe they were taken by the enemy, they asked for my help. I told them I would arrange for them to speak with our mutual acquaintance. Is this acceptable?"

The girl nodded. "I think it'll be OK. Who are the people who went missing?"

"The girl is Claire Alicia Littleton, eighteen years old. The young man in James Ford, known as Sawyer, nineteen years old."

She took out a small notebook and scribbled down the names. "So, who am I meeting?"

"My colleague, Charlie. And his friend, Kate." He glanced up. "Ah, they're here."

When Kate and Charlie reached the bench, Sayid and the young girl stood up.

Kate looked anxious. "So… did you get anything?"  
"Yes. I'll tell you everything shortly. You remember I told you about a group of people who might be sympathetic to your cause?"  
"Yeah."

"This is Alex. She can take you to those people."

Kate looked at the younger girl sceptically. "How old is she? Shouldn't there be an adult doing this?"

"Actually, I'm sixteen, and there are younger kids than me involved. And it doesn't matter how old I am, I'm the only person who can help you. Sayid's good at what he does, but he doesn't know where our headquarters are. He doesn't know who our leader is. So you show me a bit of respect, or you're on your own." Alex glared at her.

"Er… okay, I'm sorry. You're right. I didn't realise."

"Apology accepted. Now, do you two want to do this or not?"

"Yeah, of course we do."  
"Really? Are you absolutely serious about this? Because if either of you has even the slightest doubt in your mind about doing this, then you should go home now."

Kate and Charlie looked at each other, and Kate turned back to Alex. "Yeah. We're sure."

Unexpectedly, Alex grinned. "Great. None of you have anywhere to be, right?"

They all shook their heads. "Okay then. Let's roll."

September 26, 2012

Tunnels leading to the Rebel Headquarters 

Alex led the other three along a very complicated route through the city, which ended in the cellar of an abandoned apartment building, where there was a trapdoor. She opened the trapdoor, then stopped and turned back to her companions.

"Okay, this is it. This door leads into a tunnel network, and on the other side of the tunnels is our HQ. Now, the tunnels are pretty confusing, and it's dark down there… so that no-one gets lost, I'm going to rope us together. I'll go in front, you just need to keep moving and watch out for sharp turns."

Alex swiftly took a long rope from her shoulderbag, and tied one end around her waist. She then looped the rope around the waists of Kate, Charlie and Sayid, leaving a couple of feet between each of them. That done, she set off.

For Kate and the guys, it seemed to last hours – their path twisted and turned through a maze of tunnels. Eventually, however, they spotted a red light in the distance. Alex informed them that the light signalled the entrance to the rebel headquarters, but she didn't untie the rope until they were right in front of the door. She pressed the intercom button, and when a voice asked for the password, she said "Jnana" and the door swung open. On the other side there was another tunnel, but this one was wider and well-lit. There was a small guard-post next to the door, currently manned by an African-American man wearing a tshirt, a pair of old army combat trousers and battered trainers, with a pistol in a holster at his side. He looked puzzled.

"Alex? Who are these three? Does he know you've brought them?"

"It's all right, Michael. They're on our side. Sayid here left a message for me and when I asked the boss, he told me to bring them here."

"Oh, okay then. He's in his study."

"Great."

Alex turned to the other three. "Come on. He's waiting." They followed her through the underground complex. As they hurried after her, Kate saw quite a lot of people – there was a good-sized kitchen, a big common area. She could also see various doors leading off to other parts of the base. They were led through one of those doors, and into a small anteroom, where there was only a desk and chair, and a door. The chair was occupied by a young man reading a book. Kate noted that he had a rifle leaning against the desk. The young man looked up. "Alex?"

"Is he in, Aldo? He asked me to bring these people to see him."

"Yeah, he's in. Go ahead." Alex knocked on the door, and was answered by a voice calling "Come in." She opened the door slowly.

"I brought them in. Sayid, and the two new people."

"Excellent." Kate, Charlie and Sayid saw that the "study" was a small room, which held a desk, a computer, two chairs in front of the desk, and several bookcases. Seated at the desk was a handsome, dark-haired man, who looked like he was in his mid-thirties. Unlike everyone they'd seen so far, he was wearing a smart shirt."Ah, hello. Come in, please. I'm Richard."

"Kate."

"Charlie."

"Please, sit down. Alex tells me you need help."  
"That's right."

"Well, tell me your story and we'll see what we can do."

Over the next hour or so, Kate and Charlie told their story. Richard listened carefully, nodding and occasionally writing something down. When they finished, Sayid told them what he had found – that there was a record of Sawyer and Claire being taken into a DI facility. He also had the address of the building, blueprints, and other information that would help them get into the facility. He had also found Sawyer and Claire on a list, which seemed to be a list of those people currently being held in the experimental facility. Richard took the printout of the list – the other names were a Desmond Hume and a Walt Dawson. He frowned.

"Sayid… do you know anything more about these other people?"

"Hume and Dawson? No. Only their names. There were files on them, but the security on those files is beyond anything I've ever come across. Do you know them?"

"Not personally… but one member of our organisation is Michael Dawson… and his son, Walt, went missing three years ago. He'd be thirteen now. It could be the same person."

"I could try to access those files again. I have a new program I want to try out. Only experimental, but it might work."

"That may be a good idea. As it is, if we enter that facility to get your friends out, we can hardly leave two other people trapped there."

"So… you'll help us?" Kate was fiddling with a strand of her hair.

"I think we have the same aims. Yes, I'll help you get into that facility."

"Thank you."

He shook his head. "Don't thank me until you have your friends back. Anyway, we're only trying to do what is right." He sighed softly. "Now, how would you like to see the rest of our base?"

"Er… OK."

"Come on. I'll introduce you to everyone." He got up and led the way out. Kate and Charlie were the last to leave, and Kate whispered. "He seems OK… you think we can trust him?"

"Yeah…"

Alex had come back to get them. "Are you two coming?"

"Oops, sorry." They hurried after the others.

The base turned out to be smaller than they had first thought – there was a central common area, with an adjoining kitchen and storeroom for food. There was Richard's study, and a large room with several computers and other rather technical-looking equipment. Finally they were shown the sleeping quarters – two rooms, each with a dozen or so sets of bunkbeds, with doors leading off to washrooms. When the tour was finished, they went back to the central area. Richard returned to his study, while the visitors stayed to talk with the other rebels.

Alex found her boyfriend Karl – also sixteen – and they disappeared together. Sayid was standing near the entrance talking to Michael, and Charlie had somehow found a young rebel who owned a guitar, so he was entertaining a small crowd in a corner.

Kate, meanwhile, wandered into the kitchen, where she found a middle-aged woman in the middle of preparing a meal. The woman looked up when she heard Kate come in.

"Oh, you must be one of the folks Alex brought back. I'm Rose."

"Uh… hi. I'm Kate."

"Nice to meet you. So what did you want to speak to Richard about?"  
"Two of my friends were kidnapped. I want to get them back."

"Ah, I see."

"Will he be able to do it?"

"It's not really my place to say…"

"Please?"  
"…he'll do his best. Richard's a good man. He's got history, true, but who doesn't?" Rose saw that Kate looked worried. "Don't worry, sweetheart. He'll do all he can."  
"You have a lot of faith in him."  
"I've been around him for a long time. I've got to know him."

"Rose…"  
"Yes?"  
"What do you do here?"  
"Now, that's a bit complicated. Sit down, I'll tell you."

Kate noticed the table and chairs in the centre of the room, and sat down. Rose continued:

"Well, some days I come down here and cook for this lot. They're good at what they do, but most of 'em can barely boil an egg. I don't live down here, see. I live up there, with my husband, Bernard. He's a dentist. Anyway, our house is in one of those areas where the DI's not all that powerful, and it's a big house, so we loan out the spare rooms to this lot. Sometimes, when they've been up to something, we let them hide out with us. Alex lives with us, you know."

"Alex? Really?"  
"Sure."

"What do you know about her? She seems so young to be involved in this."  
"Ah, Alex might look young, but she's wise beyond her years, that one. Still runs around with that Karl, but she's a bright girl."

"Richard seems to trust her."  
"He does. She's his second-in-command."  
"What about her family? Wouldn't they object to her being in danger all the time like that?"  
"Well, Alex doesn't exactly have a family in the conventional sense." When Rose saw the puzzled look on Kate's face, she continued. "Her mother disappeared fifteen years ago. Alex was only a baby, but her father was still around back then. As far as I know, everything was fine until Alex turned eleven."

"What happened then?"  
"I'm not exactly sure. She doesn't like to talk about it. I do know that her father works for the DI. When she was eleven, she accidentally found something in his study that she wasn't supposed to know about. He was involved in something bad, something really bad, and although she was only a child she knew what she'd found. She ran away from home, and spent more than a few nights on the street."

"Oh… what happened?"  
Rose smiled. "Richard. He was younger then, and he hadn't started all of this yet. Back then he was more focused on finding homeless kids and looking after them. He would bring them to me, and I would make sure they had a good meal and a safe place to sleep. He found Alex sleeping in a DI 'phone box, of all places. The next day, she told him why she'd run away, and it was the story she told him that day that persuaded him to concentrate on taking down the DI."  
"You don't know what she said?"

"No. She would only tell him. Anyway, since then those two have been like family to each other. She'd lost hers, and I don't think Richard's ever had one of his own. Something just clicked between them. Don't tell him I said this, because he'll deny it, but I think he's more of a father to her than her actual father ever was. It was him who insisted she live with me and Bernard."

"Didn't her father come looking for her?"  
"Darlin', so many kids go missing or run away in this city… even if he did, he'd never find her. Not if she doesn't want him to. She's happier here anyway. These folks are her family."

"Oh. It's just… I ran away from home. I was fourteen. No-one came looking for me. Not even my mom. No-one even cared about me 'til I met Sawyer – my boyfriend. One of the people I'm trying to find."

"Well there you go, then. You know what it's like, wanting to have just one person who cares. You found a boyfriend, Alex found a father-figure."

"Yeah. You're right." Kate thought about something for a moment. "Do you know Alex's real father's name?"  
"Now that I do know. His name's Linus. Dr. Benjamin Linus. He's some kinda scientist, a psychologist or something. You know him?"  
"No. Never heard of him. I just thought he might be involved in my friends being kidnapped."

"Anything's possible."  
"Rose… could I help you cook?"

"Why, 'course you can. I'm always glad to have someone to help. You can get started peeling those vegetables." Rose handed her a vegetable peeler, a bowl for the peelings, and a basket of carrots and potatoes.

Kate spent a happy couple of hours in the kitchen with Rose – talking about everything and nothing. Later, she, Charlie and Sayid were invited to join the meal – an invitation they accepted. By the time Alex led the three of them back to the outside world, Kate was feeling more hopeful about her self-appointed mission.

September 26, 2012

Rebel HQ – evening.

When the three visitors had left, and those of the rebels who lived with Rose and her husband had departed for the night, another visitor knocked on the door at the main entrance. Michael – still on guard duty for another six hours – pressed the intercom button.

"Password?"

"Hatha"

Michael checked the password against the list – different people had different passwords, it helped to stop people trying to infiltrate the base. The password "Hatha" was assigned to a young Korean man, Jin-Soo Kwon. Michael relaxed and opened the door.

"Jin! Good to see you, man. Where've you been?"

"I've been training for a mission. It did not leave much time for social visits. Is he here?"  
"Yeah, he's in his study. Go on through."

Jin headed straight for Richard's study. This time, the desk in the anteroom was unoccupied, and the Korean knocked on the door.

"Door's open."

He pushed the door open. "Sir. I've come for my briefing."  
"Ah, Jin. Excellent. Your training is complete?"  
"It is."

"And your cover story?"

"It is perfect."

"Tell me."  
Jin began to recite. "I am employed by a private security firm, Candle Security. The company is favoured by powerful members of Dharma. I have been assigned as the replacement bodyguard for the daughter of Mr Paik, one of the directors of Dharma, following the unfortunate unavailability of her previous bodyguard."

Richard raised an eyebrow. "Unavailability? What did you do?"  
"I told him that mobsters in his home town were threatening his family. He went quickly, of his own free will and without stopping to pack."

Richard laughed. "Good. Your assignment to the Paik girl is secure?"

"It is. Are you sure she is who we should be targeting?"

"I've done my homework. She's his only child, her mother is dead. She seems to be harmless, but she knows something. I've had a hacker looking at her 'net activity. She's been accessing a few too many revolutionary sites to be just an average socialite. If we can get her on our side, she could be invaluable to our cause."  
"I see."

"When are you due to start your assignment?"  
"Tomorrow."  
"Good. Be careful – don't act too soon. Get to know her a little first, and find a way to introduce the subject gradually."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You can go now, Jin. Get some sleep.

**A/N: So... how was that? I changed a few things - Walt's last name, for example, and I made Ben Alex's biological father**.

**Reviews make me happy.  
**


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